According to Anthony Fauci, 40,000 new COVID cases and 1,000 related deaths are still occurring daily, so the pandemic isn’t going away anytime soon. While that’s a pain for those who desperately want to get back to “normal” life, others are grateful for the reprieve. After all, family time at home is bound to correct potential wife or husband cheating, right? Well, unfortunately, that’s not necessarily so. Based on reports from a new relationship study, there’s actually been a rise in online affairs since the pandemic hit. But what’s that all about, and what can you do about it on your end?
What Is the Kinsey Study?
The Kinsey Institute recently conducted a lengthy study involving thousands of participants. Their purpose was to understand the romantic and sexual relationships of global-based couples during the COVID-19 crisis. All participants voluntarily provided honest answers to non-judgmental researchers. The results concluded that approximately 20% of participants reached out to an ex during the pandemic to rekindle a relationship, and 25% of exes reached out first to them. While 28% of those who reached out to an ex were single, 13% were already in established relationships.
Ashley Madison Concurs
The well-known marital affair website agreed with the findings of the Kinsey study and added their own results since the beginning of the pandemic. While physical affairs are difficult at best right now, AM is one website that encourages online affairs. Their members listen so well that they’ve seen 17,000 new accounts daily since the beginning of the year. Compared to their 15,500 daily average accounts in 2019, it’s clear the pandemic isn’t hurting their business or reducing husband cheating.
What Happened to Porn?
At the COVID peak, approximately 75% of Americans were on some form of lockdown. Even as restrictions have lessened, many of those people are still on pretty solid home isolation plans. For most people, that’s lead to some serious lifestyle changes including a major libido drop, especially when trouble existed in paradise prior to the pandemic. Porn’s still out there, but according to many cheating and even straightforward dating websites, it’s often just not enough right now. Many married men (and women for that matter) have torn through the existing internet porn supply and are looking for a more “personalized porn” solution. Hence, the rise in cheating websites since they easily and readily provide that to consenting and often paying adults. Those are also real people on the other end so, unfortunately, once the pandemic lifts many of those people will want to take their virtual relationship to the next level.
Does That Mean Your Marriage Is Doomed?
Come on, if everyone who sexted or flirted online divorced, there would be no marriages left in this country. A marriage is only as strong as both partners make it. But you can’t and shouldn’t do it alone. COVID has actually been credited in some cases as mending marriages that were heading for divorce court. As the courts reopen and the pandemic eventually lifts, time will tell if that trend continues. But you still have the right to know where your partner’s loyalties and intentions lie. When you’re ready to get the answers, give us a call to begin professional Michigan spousal surveillance.